Address—C. Hendricks
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The spotless line of God. Thou hast bought us with thy blood. We are thine and thine alone. This Enlightenment fully owned 123 Someone raised opportunities.
Glory.
To God.
When we are.
In the Lord.
And I wish it's our heavens are going to have a little negative.
It's great.
I'd like to please turn with me to second Timothy. I'd like to.
Go through this epistle.
To get the.
The tenor of the epistle. It's the last epistle, the Apostle Paul wrote.
Second Timothy. And there's something specially solemn in the last words of anyone, And it's especially true respecting the words of our of the Apostle Paul. These were his last words that he ministered to Timothy, his child, in the faith.
And some time ago I went through the epistle and I recorded.
38 distinct directives.
To this young man, Timothy from the aged apostle. And we're going to look at them. We probably won't look at all 38, but we look at a large number of them and as we go through these directives, these.
These words to stimulate the young man Timothy in the darkened state of the Assembly. The whole theme of the epistle is.
To stir Timothy up to energy, and to stand for the Lord, and to stand for the truth, and for the deposit of truth which had been entrusted to him in an evil that stand. Stand fast. And Timothy was evidently a not only was he a young man, but he was evidently A timid man by nature, so he had to be stirred up. Now many of us are just that way. We're not too Peter, for instance. He was. He was a rapid old man.
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And he was always coming forward, sometimes not, not too wisely, But some of us are quite retiring and not forward and somewhat bashful, and I believe Timothy was like that.
But he hadn't. He had what was essential.
Something more than boldness. He had a real fervent love for the truth of the Lord and for the Saints, Paul could say in Philippians. I have no men like minded with Timothy who will chair the genuine feeling. How do you get on? That's more important than?
Great guests or great power but it's it's to have a heart that is desiring the blessing and the good of the Saints. Let's just read the first verses of chapter one of second Timothy and then we'll look at these directives and 1St verses are introductory to this epistle. Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. How important that this be stressed.
Especially in an epistle which addresses the last days.
That these instructions come from an apostle who was put in that position, given that gift set in that office by the will of God, by the will of God, according to the promise of light which is in Christ Jesus. I hear the Apostle Paul gets very close to John's ministry. John who spoke of the pleasant possession of eternal life, Eternal life is as a possession that we have right now generally in Paul's writings.
Eternal life is presented as future.
As what we're going on to the end everlasting life.
But here he speaks of the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. And having Christ we have that life. To Timothy, an ideally beloved Son, you see, life is beyond this drama magical moment. Life is beyond all dispensations. Life is something which which is absolutely essential.
One needs a life. He needs the very life of Christ in order to, in order to to be in the path at all. That's, that's basic, that's essential. And so he goes back to the very essentials according to promise of life, which is in Christ Jesus and all those that have this life, that are children of God by faith in Christ, that have been brought by the new birth into a new.
Relationship with God, new life, new nature, and they have this life.
To Timothy, my dearly beloved son, notice the terms of deep affection that he uses in these in this epistle which addresses the last days, the days when the love of many shall wax cold and there'll be a turning away from the truth. To Timothy, my dearly beloved son, here was one that that had a heart just like the apostle Paul, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father.
In Christ Jesus our Lord.
I thank God, whom I serve for my forefathers with pure conscience and without ceasing. I have remembrance of thee and my prayers, night and day, night and day, greatly desiring to see thee being mindful about tears, that I may be filled with joy.
Evidently there was the previous meeting between Paul and Timothy, and Timothy shed tears at the prospect of not seeing this.
Beloved father or followers his father in the faith not seeing him again. Be mindful of that tears that I may be filled with joy when I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith, the genuine faith that is. Indeed it's brought first in my grandmother Lois and my mother Eunice. And I am persuaded that in the also So what a, what a blessing.
To be able to point to a godly parent and then to a godly grandparent.
In this case, it was his mother and his grandmother who were Jews Jewesses, evidently. Evidently, Timothy's father was a Gentile. He doesn't allude to him, but he alludes to the line of faith that was in his family.
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Now he starts the directives.
Wherefore, verse six, I put thee in remembrance that thou stirred up the gift of God, which is ending by the putting on of my hands.
He'll turn back to First Timothy Chapter 4, verse 14.
Paul says, neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery or the elderhood.
Evidently there was a prophetic utterance made by one of the prophets of the day as to this young man Timothy, that he was to he was marked out as a special vessel to be used in a special way. And the first question to Timothy, the third chapter, the apostle gives the qualifications of a Bishop and a Deacon, or a menace, or a a a Bishop is an overseer.
And the Deacon is a minister laundry ministers in temporal things. The overseer or the Bishop was responsible for the spiritual welfare of the local Saints, and the Deacon or the minister was responsible for meeting their temporal needs.
Well.
He was given this gift.
Gift, he says in verse 14 in chapter 4 and neglect not the gift that is indeed which was given thee by prophecy. That is there was there was a prophecy.
That went before Ounces of Timothy turned back to the first chapter, First Timothy verse 18.
This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thy that thou by them might as were a good warfare. So here again he refers to prophecies as to Timothy, and going back to chapter 4 again he he absorbs going to be neglect now the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy.
With notice the preposition there with the laying out of the hands of the presbytery, but in first and second Timothy chapter one, verse 6.
He says I put the in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee by notice it's a different preposition by the putting on of my hands. I think Timothy is the only exceptional case in the New Testament where a gift was conferred to 1 Generally there isn't heaven. The Lord Jesus, Ephesians 4 He is ascended up on high and he gave gifts unto men, and then he gave some apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastors and teachers and so on.
And there Christ himself directly gives the gifts for the good and benefit of the church. But in Timothy's case, because he was a young man and could easily have been despised false sensitivity, that no man despised by you could be thou an example of the believers in Word and doctrine and faith and impurity and so on. So Timothy received the gift by the laying out of the apostles hands of prophetic utterance was given respecting Timothy.
Correlated hands upon him.
And he received the gift, and the presbytery or the elders expressed fellowship in that it says with the laying on of the hands of the elderly. So they recognized that Timothy was called by the Lord for special purpose and function in the early church. I believe he was what you would call an Apostolic delegate like Titus was, where he was delegated by the apostle to appoint elders in in the churches.
A most extraordinary.
Function for a young man, But he was called into this special position to parlay his hands upon him. He received this gift, and then the other hood expressed fellowship with him by the laying out of their hands. They didn't confer the gift, but they expressed television with what God was doing. So he's exerting him here in verse six of our second Timothy one. He says, Stir up the gift of God.
Which is in thee with the putting on, by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear and be afraid, Timothy, in in the face of opposition. You see, a young man, a young man and a timid man, in fact, would need this encouragement, this directive from the apostle, to stir it up. And I believe that we're in these last days, these directives that were directed to Timothy, are needed by.
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And by each of us, and especially those who may be really desiring to go out for the Lord, but maybe young, something like Timothy, and maybe somewhat Timothy, take a firm stand for the Lord in the evil day. For God has not given us the spirit of fear. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid of what the enemy is going to do. You can get forward in the strength of the Lord, but He's given us the spirit of power and of love.
And of a sound mind of the spirit of power.
And of love, and of the sound binding and the strength of that we can go forward and hold fast in evil day, when the grave majority of believers are turning away their years from the truth and not standing, but giving up the truth of God, not standing for it. And then he says another directive, the second one in verse 8. The first one is to stir up the gift of God, And Paul knew that he had that gift because he received it through Paul's laying out of Paul's hands.
And there was fellowship. The elders had to recognize that Timothy was given this gift because they expressed fellowship with it. We saw that in the 4th chapter of First Timothy.
Now he says in verse 8, Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner.
It's easy to identify with the Christian testimony when large companies are doing it, when multitudes are doing it. But the Epistle to Second Timothy looks on to the day when the numbers would diminish, when the enemy would be there to oppose and to withstand and to ridicule and to scoff at and to mock and to hold those that were standing for the truth and derision.
It is such a day. It's very easy to become intimidated. So he needs to. He needed to stir that gift up. Not let it lag, not let it lapse, not not hide it, but to stir it up. Whatever that gift was that Timothy had, that was in connection with the establishment, in the faith of the early Christians. We'll see that as we go through all of these directives in this epistle.
And it can't be carried out. If one is filled. One's heart is filled with fear. But God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love, and of a sound market. Power and love in the sound of mind. We can't say that things have come to such a pass in these days that Second Timothy speaks of the last days. There's no power left. You can't say that God has given us the spirit of power.
We have all the power of God in our disposal.
To stand for the truth of God, no matter how weak the state of things has become.
Don't hide our failures. Don't hide failure. Timothy on on the excuse. We are so weak we just cannot go forward. In the strength of the Lord, God has given us the spirit of power.
And as well, Timothy don't allow the coldness and the deadness. It says the love of the many. In the last days the Lord says, shall wax cold and men shall be lovers of themselves, he tells us in this third chapter of our epistle.
Occupied with self and the love for others, and going out to others and seeing and seeing needs wherever they might be, he's given us the spirit of love. Love is selfless. Love doesn't think of self. Love thinks of the object that is before it. Love always seeks the good of its object, and so love does not cease to operate.
Just because others may fail in it, God has given us the spirit of love. Get the hard heartedness of the Pharisees, turn the Lord Jesus aside? Did it cause him to withdraw into himself and to cease to bless him to meet the needs of those roundabouts? Of course not. You could not stop the heart of Christ in flowing out in blessing to man. You could. You could put a wall in front of the river and all it would do is go right around it and still continue to flow.
If, if his, if his acts of goodness and love and benevolence to mankind were met with stiff and blind underneath, it flowed out to others, but they couldn't stop it. And that ought to be true of us. God has given us the spirit of love, the spirit of love, and a sound mind, important in in these days when false doctrines, when wrong teaching, when erroneous thoughts are everywhere.
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He's given us the spirit of a sound, fine, wise discretion, so that we're not carried away by every wind of doctrine, and the slight of men in unprincipled cunningness whereby they lie and wait to deceive. Paul says no. He's given us the spirit of wisdom and spirit of the sound of mind, to know how to whack a walk, and to know what to do, and not to be carried away into error. Because we have.
The precious truth of God.
And then he says in verse 8, Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me and his prisoner, that second part of the phrase there, nor of me and his prisoner. Don't be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord. Don't be ashamed to stand for Christ. You know, we're living in a day when to really come up with a bold confession of Christ, and to stand firmly for him in his last days, is going to bring reproach.
Going to bring persecution. It may not be physical abuse. We may not be stoned or beaten or cast to lions, but there's all kinds of verbal abuse and disdain and and and and mockery. These things are hard to take and we've we've made a witness at work and then we see a little group over in the corner that blasts our way from time to time and they break into roars of laughter and and you know, they're talking.
About that that queer.
Christian that still believes this book, still believes this book. Well, these are all intimidating things. These are all things calculated by the enemy that cause us to drive to our shell and not be so vocal about our faith. Not not witness so boldly about our faith, Be not ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner. What does that mean? Why? Why does he bring that? Because, Paul.
The ministry of Paul, he ashamed first of all of the testimony of the Law, to be ashamed of witnessing and standing for Christ in the evil day, and then to be ashamed of Paul his prisoner. God's put in Christ's prisoner, now he's in prison and.
That calls ministry while being in prison is a little picture in these last days of how unpopular Paul's ministry has become.
It's been sort of, so to speak, imprisoned them, locked up in prison. Not wanted not. He was one that was not not visited. He mentions one at the end of this chapter on a on a syphilis who who sought him out and found him at at at at the risk of a great cost to himself. We don't know what that cost.
On the sickness to seek fallout, as he did.
Says he often. Freshman was not ashamed of my change. And so here, though the apostle exhorts, urges, directs Timothy. Don't be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord and his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God, if we're reading on the stand for Christ in an evil day.
Then we're going to have to be a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel. Here the gospel is personified, that is the enemy as opposed to the gospel, and we who are burying that, we who are holding it forth are going to be a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel. He is conditioning Timothy. He's preparing Timothy. This is what you have to expect, that you're going to stand for Christ in an evil day. And we are in the last days of the Church's history on earth.
The world is about ready to throw Christianity off altogether.
It's had enough. It's had enough. See Christianity in the in the way the world views it has failed. It has not converted the world. It was never intended Not converting the world. It was never God's purpose. The world will not be converted by the by the testimony of Christians.
The world is a condemned thing, and Christians are left here to bear witness to it. That it's it is condemned and it's it's under the judgment of the God, and that the the word we are to give to those who are in it is flee from the wrath to come. Save yourselves from this unforced generation.
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Sever yourselves from your connection with the system of things which is under the judgment of God, and soon that judgment is going to fall. It's about to fall. And we're here in these last moments. The clock is just ticking away these last few moments.
Of our soldier in here. If we're going to be a witness for him in an evil day, we're going to have to be a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel. Can't escape them. You can't witness for Christ and escape persecution. That's what Paul is telling to me.
Now, I can't possibly go through all these verses and get through these directives, so I'm going to pass on to the next directive, which is in verse 13. It's just an outline I want to give tonight. If you give the, the, the, the, the flavor you might say with this epistle, he says to Timothy, hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus. Grow fast, the form of sound words. We're we're living in a day when that's.
Quickly, fast being let go.
Not holding fast, not having an outline of sound words as he's given it to us in his precious word. Keep things in their proper perspective. Don't mix things that apply to the Jews and apply them to the Gentiles or to to the Church of God. But right later on you'll see the expression rightly divided the word of truth. But here the new translation renders that have an outline of sound words.
Be so in the truth of God, so in the word of God that you have in your mind and outline. That is, you can go through the books of the New Testament, the Old Testament as well, but you can go through the books and you can you can know just where each one fits. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John 4 Pictures of the Lord Jesus as he was here Matthew presented presented him as the Messiah. The King, the Son of David, the son of Abraham. Mark is the perfect servant.
That behold my servant whom I have told my elected, whom I so delighted. The characteristic world words in the gospel of Mark are a non immediately, forthwith, and that is the the action of a servitude immediately respond to commands that are given to him, And then the Gospel according to Luke, he's presented as his. His genealogy is traced back to the Son of Adam, who was the Son of God.
His manhood, The perfect man.
At the Son of Man down here in this world.
The perfect humanity of Christ. Beautiful to trace that through the Gospel according to Luke. And then of course the Gospel of John presents him as the divine eternal Son of God, Son of the Fathers, The delight of the Father's heart, the one who is always in his bosom He came down here to make known to us within that boozing rise. Well, that's just a little example. I could go on and trace out the other books in the New Testament Heaven outlined.
Of sound words, you know where everything fits.
And adult confused things, so that we have a thorough understanding of the of the word of God and the mind of God.
Fast the form, or have it outlined, of sound words which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus.
Then we go to the 6th, the 2nd chapter, the oh verse 14. I should read that that's another directive, a very important one of chapter one, that good thing or that good deposit which was committed unto thee keep.
By the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us, Paul talks about the truth that was deposited with Timothy. He calls it that good thing or that good deposit that was committed unto thee key how could he keep it? Thy Holy Ghost which is given to us, We have the Spirit of God. We have the Spirit of truth. He's called the spirit of Truth in John 1415 and 16. He's the Spirit of truth. By word is truth.
And so we have all the power at our disposal to keep that deposit, not to let it go to the Philadelphia's. The Lord says, hold fast. What? Thou hast that no man take thy crown. So here Paul exhorts Timothy, to keep by the Holy Ghost that could be positive, which was committed to thee, when we think of the deposit of truth that has been committed to us.
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Is gathered to the precious name of the Lord Jesus.
Outside of all the confusion and Christmas, outside the camp, outside of the systems of men which have been arranged and set up according to man's will, and man's arrangements and man's ordering, but to have a blessed day of the Lord for the way we meet.
Thus saith the Lord, for our comings together, the acknowledgement of the presence in our midst of the Spirit of God, to lead to God, to direct in ministry, in prayer, in worship, in in our assembly, functions, in the administration aspect of things, reception, putting away, and all that is connected with the disciplinary matters. The Spirit of God is there. And so we have we have the power.
And the truth in him who is the Spirit of truth to hold the truth as God has given it to us. But he says to Timothy that good thing and good deposit which was committed under the key by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us which dwelleth in us. Now every one of us has the in duality of the Spirit of God. Everyone of us then is qualified by that to to hold fast.
The form of sound words and to.
Not be intimidated, not be afraid, not be filled with fear. He's given us the spirit of power and of love, and of a sound mind and hear that same spirit that dwells within us, enables us to keep that good deposit which was given to us. While he's speaking, of course, to Timothy, but it applies to us in these days who have been given so much. There's no, there's no company of Saints, I'm persuaded, and the whole earth that has a richer deposit of truth.
A wonderful legacy of truth that we have and we have.
What are we doing with it? I will make it our own. Are we? Are we into the ministry? Wonderful teachings, Truths are recovered in the last century by that marvelous operation of the Spirit of God. We have two epistles, especially three. I can add the Epistle of Jude, but I was thinking of Second Timothy and Philadelphia. Two addresses. That address to Philadelphia gives what is characteristically approved of Christ.
In this evil day.
And one of the things he says, Thou hast kept my word, and that the night my name kept my word, and not the magnet. These are the the, the features, the moral features in Philadelphia that he approves of. And so he observes Timothy, to keep by the Holy Ghost with Rosen aspect to deposit now chapter 2, verse one. Now therefore, my son be strong, another director.
In the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
One who might tend to be fearful.
And timid as Timothy, if he had such a sense in his soul of the grace that is in Christ Jesus, the grace that kicks him up.
And when he was nothing but a massive sin, that's what we all were before we were saved. We were all alienated from the life of God through the ignorant that was in us because of the hardness of our hearts. That was our condition by nature, and our practice was the same before we were converted to God. Some of you have been raised in Christian families and you haven't fallen into the depths of sin and that others have who were saved right out from the world, but the nature.
The heart that you have by nature is just as rotten.
And justice as corrupt as anyone who's on Skid Row, alienated from the life of God? Well.
Be strong in the sense, she says to Timothy of the grace which is in Christ Jesus. The only way we're going to be enabled to stand for God against the onrushing tide of evil which has come into Christmas, coming into Christmas. Because this at last Epistle of Timothy is in view of the last days, says that in 3rd chapter and so all this ministry.
Is really taking us down right to the last stage, right to where we are today. With all this influx of evil coming in, how can you? How can it be withstood on a legal principle? Principle of law may not never be strong in the grace. It is in Christ Jesus, a sense of grace in your soul, Timothy sense that you are nothing.
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And Christ is everything that will enable you to stand firm. It's not your own strength. It's not something that you have within you that you can draw upon that gives you the strength to stand against the evil. It's a sense of the grace that is in Constitution.
That will enable you to be strong. So he says, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And then he goes on to say verse two. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses the same commit thou to faithful men. There's another director, Timothy. You commit these things to faithful men. Don't hide them in your own heart. Don't reserve them for yourself. I've given them to you. Now you give them to faithful men.
Who shall be able to teach others? Also notice in that second verse you have 4 generations. You have the Apostle Paul committing to Timothy, who commits to faithful men who should be able to instruct others also 4 distinct generations. But to whom is Timothy told to commit these wonderful truths? This deposit that had been given to him, that he was to keep by the Holy Ghost? To whom was he to commit these things? To theological students? To to those that have gone through great learning in universities?
To take them not to gifted men, not to learn his men, not to intellectual men, but to faithful men. That's what's needed in an evil day such as your living. And these thankful men will be able to teach others also.
Then we have another directive. In verse 3. Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. We are in a warfare. We're in a warfare. And Paul says in First Corinthians 9:00 and 9:00 he says so thy guy not as one that beateth the air, not as a shadow boxer, but as fighting a real opponent, a real opponent. And so we are in a warfare, and that requires enduring hardness. A soldier is not a softy. He's one that's trained to endure hardness and if we're going to be in this warfare.
For the Lord Jesus, we're going to have to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
No man that worked and taken with himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him to have chosen him to be a soldier, being a being in the in the service of one's country as a soldier, he disentangles himself from the affairs of the world round about. He's no longer in the domestic life of of a whirlwind. He is in another sphere. He's in another world, so to speak, the world of warfare.
And so he does not.
Entangle himself with the affairs of This time. He's separated men. He's got one object before him, and that is to deal with the enemy and to stand for the Lord.
Verse. I'd like to comment on these other versions, but the time is running out, so verse 7 is another directive considering what I was saying.
But I know I do want to comment in five and six. I don't want to pass it over. If the man also strived for Mastery's yet is he not proud except to strive walking?
Those of us who know a little bit about the Olympics that took place over and saw know that Ben Johnson of Canada, who won the gold medal, was stripped of that because he violated the rules. And that's what Paul's talking about here.
We're not crowned except we strive lawfully. There were others that lost their prizes too, because.
They violated the rules and in the things that God, this is a rule book right here holding it in my hands. We have to go. Not by my thoughts. Not by what do you think, brother? How do you think we ought to do this? Know what? Say it below. Let's say it below. What does God say? How off this could be done. What did not not the question. I heard it said what would Jesus do? Not fact. Because that depends on what I think he would do. And what did Jesus do?
What did he do? How did he meet this kind of a situation?
His life is so full and we have the four gospels. We can study those. When you get the answers to our questions, how he met these different kinds of situations that confront us in what is our pattern? He is the one where to follow. He is the one where to walk, just as he walked down here. So let us study here. Let us study him so we will know the path because he has marked it out before us.
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Well, if we're in this in this.
Contest one is not crowned unless he strive lawfully, and then those that are in farming certainly know what verse 6 means, and I'm going to read that as it is in the new translation. The husbandman must labor before partaking of the fruits. You know what that is and you have to prepare the ground, sow the seed.
Fertilize it.
Take care of it, weed it and all the things that are needed.
In order to get a good prophecy, and so there has to be that labor which comes.
Way before the crop that's produced. And so he's preparing Timothy for the warfare, the abiding by the rules, striving lawfully, not violating the rules, not interjecting my own thoughts. And the way the word of God is to be held, the way it's to be presented, the way it's to be preached in the gospel.
And the things that are to be brought into the assembly, we have to we have to have the word of God. It's so important during a day when man's will is very active and he's bringing in things. And one of the great dangers amongst the gathering Saints today is to to read ministry or to listen to ministry habitually that comes from the camp. And that gives me ideas that I may never have had, that are not necessarily ideas from the word of God.
But they are things that come in from the Philistines, and they're not, they're not sharing the ark in a scriptural way. Where did they get that idea of the new parts? Well, they got it from the Philistines, and when they tried to carry the ark on the cart, the judgment was immediately administered to them. So we need, we need a thus saith the Lord for everything that we allow in our assembly life and in our spiritual lives, individually as well as collectively.
And then there has to be much labor before the truth comes. You can't expect to see converts immediately. If you're laboring in a field, the word has to be presented, and might be years later before the fruit is partaking up. And in verse seven, another directive, consider what I say, always given so much instruction here so far, he says consider what I say. I believe that would be the thought of Meditate upon it. Think it over.
The way sometimes the word of God is presented to us is the way we should read it. You know, a chapter a day, and then we go our way. You know how long it would take to get through the Bible. If you read a chapter a day, it'll take you almost four years.
We ought to go through the word of God at least once a year, and that takes close to 4 chapters a day. That isn't much time. 2:00 in the morning, two in the evening, 4 chapters a day. Maybe It would take a half hour in the morning, half hour at night, an hour a day to spend the word of God. That's that ought to be our bare minimum. It ought to be men of the book. Men of the book have this precious water of the Word flowing over our soul. So we are so familiar with His will.
And with his ways, and with the truth of God, that we are not bewildered when questions that present themselves to us. Consider what I say. Think about it. Give thyself, he says later, holy to these things, but they probably may appear to all. Consider what I say in the Lord will give the understanding in other things. We don't understand something, we don't understand what a passage means, or maybe a problem can confront us.
Consider considering the word. We find the answer to all our problems not by going to books of psychology, not by going to something that man has written, but right here. We've got all the answers right here.
Be there, Paul says to the Colossians, lest any man spoil you through philosophy, invade the seed after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the firmness of the Godhead bodily, and you're completing him.
The head of all principality and power beware. Unless they even squad you. Through what? Philosophy. That's the world's distance. It's psychology. It's philosophy. It's wisdom and the vain deceit. That's the world's religion. Those are the two things the enemy uses to lead us astray. We have all that we need right here in this precious book to guide us through this wilderness scene. He hasn't failed us. We have the spirit of God.
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Dwelling in us, the word of God in our hands, the glorified Christ in your seating for us in heaven, ministering to us from the glory all that we need.
Through this sin consider what I say and the Lord will give you understanding in all things. Another one verse 8 Remember now this says our King James says remember that Jesus Christ of the sea.
Of the dead according to my gospel. It sounds like he's asking Timothy to remember that fact. Let me read it as it is in the new translation. You'll see the sense is different. Remember Jesus Christ of the seed of David raised from the dead. According to my gospel, he's not telling us telling Timothy to remember that he was raised, but to remember Jesus Christ who was raised when we did to remember him. The risen 1.
He is now in a new position, a man in the glory, and thou our associations of life, our citizenship, is in heaven, is identified with him. Remember him.
Is identified with him, remember him, where he is and who he is.
Raised from the dead, according to my gospel, where had I suffered trouble, trouble as an evildoer, and so on.
Verse 14 Now of these things, put them in remembrance. Another director, Timothy, you put these others in remembrance. You're responsible. This isn't just for you.
I feel we fail in this.
We are given truth not to just have it for ourselves, but to communicate it to others, put in remembrance.
Put them in remembrance. Charging them There's another one. Charging them not just to tell them what to solemnly charge them about these things before the Lord, that they strive not about words to no prophet, but to the subverting of the hearers. Arguing, trying to persuade another by argument is just a way of the flesh.
A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion. Still, you can win the argument that you think you haven't changed his his convictions whatsoever. So we're not to strive in such a way with those that are opposing the truth about words to no prophet, but to the subverting of the hearers. Some some of those kinds of discussions can be harmful to a simple soul that might be listening in. And then we come to verse 50 and most important, verse.
Study another directive Timothy studied to show thyself approved unto God, A Workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Rightly dividing the word of truth study. Be diligent in this.
That when you, when you set forth the word of God, set it forth as God intended, give the sense as it says in Ezra the priest. They gave me sense. They gave me meaning. They didn't give some fanciful interpretation, totally unrelated to the context of the passage where the verse was to be found.
I remember a Bible study group was being conducted in some church group and they were all going around in the head of verse before them and each one was to give what that verse meant to to him or to her, the individual. And they went around the group and then a brother who had been listening in on this.
He said to one who had given a most outrageous, fanciful interpretation.
What it meant to him? He said. What would this first mean to you? What would this verse mean if you died right now? Would it have a meaning? Are these verses only meaningful when they're related to a living person, or do they have a meaning, the meaning of the spirit of God, whether we're here or whether we're not here, whether the church is here or not? How do these forces have a meaning? What does What is God saying in the verse?
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Now to set this forward is the is the business of a teacher. A teacher deals with the word of God. He gives the sense, he gives the meaning. He rightly divides the word of truth. A shepherd or pastor, he deals with the sheep, he deals with souls. He visits and he seeks to to encourage and to enter into the sorrows, the trials, the difficulties of of souls as they go through this scene.
You'll notice in Ephesians 4 he gave some apostles, some prophets and evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, pastors and teachers.
That is the the one that deals with the sheep and the word they're put together. You can really hardly help a sheep if you don't rightly divide the word, if you don't apply the word as needed for the help of blessing the sheep. So those two are covered. Some have more of a pastoral gift, others more strictly teachers, but you really can't pester properly. If you don't, you're not able to teach to some extent.
Study and show thyself approved unto God a Workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly divided the word of truth. The word is going to judge us everyone in the last day. Everything that is done down here in the sphere of Christianity is going to be judged by the word of God. Remember in the revelation one get this vision of the Lord in his judicial character. And out of this mouth comes and it goes with sharp 2 edges sword.
And that's the word of God. The word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword.
It's it's what gives me discernment of the mind of God and how important it is when one is setting forwards. I'm seeking to do tonight the sense.
The basic teachings of this epistle that if you rightfully divided that we we get a real understanding of the intent of the Spirit of God in this portion of scripture.
Verse 16 He gives another directive, but Shannon profane and vain babbling. There are there are discussions that the man of God is to shun. He's to avoid these things. He's not to allow himself to be drawn into propane and vain backwards. For they, that is, those who uttered profaning, being babblings, will increase unto more ungodlyness, more ungodliness.
And there were no leaders that the canker of whom his Henonius and Thalidus, who concerning the truth of urge, saying that the resurrection is passed already in overthrow the faith of his Son.
Now in verse 19, nevertheless the foundation of God's standards sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his. And here's another directive like everyone that nameth the name of Christ or the Lord depart from iniquity. That's solemn responsibility of everyone in these last days. It is always been so that this this is especially instruction for the last days. Everyone that names the name of Lord is to depart from iniquity.
That word iniquity means unrighteousness. What is not right? What is not, according to this book?
Iniquity, unrighteousness. There is so much that passes in the Christian world today that is really iniquity. It's unrighteousness. It's not according to the pattern.
Remember what the Lord told Moses? He charged him. He said that when you build up Tabernacle, make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mouth. Don't deviate from it. One I owe them that instruction is just as good for us. And that's exactly the point he's making here. To be able to Timothy to show that don't deviate from the pattern, Don't deviate from the word of truth that God has given to us. Hold it fast. Keep it.
And avoid these things that would be unprofitable.
Not everyone, the name of the name of Christ, depart from iniquity.
Verse 20 In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some delight and some to dishonor if you're going to be a vessel to honor in this great house. In first Timothy it wasn't called a great house, it was called the House of God. But here in Second Timothy the House of God has lost its character as the House of God. And it's a great house. Vessel to our vessels to dishonour, clean and upgrade vessels. Vessels. Vessels suitable for the masters use. Vessels unsuitable for the masters use.
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Well, what are we to do? We are to separate from the vessels. To dishonor from that which is unsuitable for the masters use, we have to separate from it. That's what the next verse says, verse 21. If a man therefore purge himself from these these vessels of this honor, these unsuitable vessel throws at the master cannot use because they're not clean.
He should be a vessel unto owner, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work, every good work, the way to be a prepared vessel you might have in your home. You might have a gold vessel that was used for a previous.
Group of guests and somehow it neglected, getting rushed and you have company now tonight, even though it's a gold vessel, even though it would represent a true believer.
But it hasn't been washed. It hasn't had gone under the action of the Water of the Word, and it's unclean. It's it's a vessel at that point in time to dishonor, and so it can't be used to serve your guests, and the master can't use a vessel that is unclean, even though they might be a true believer. I don't believe the issue here is that our vessels to honor our saved souls and vessels to dishonor are unsaved souls. I don't believe that's the point. I believe the point is that everyone that names the name of Lord depart from iniquity.
There are those who name the name of Lord, and yet they are involved in iniquity. They are involved in that which is not according to God.
We're not raising the question when we separate from such. We're not saying you're not saved. What we're saying is you're not walking in a clean path. You can't walk that path with you. Finally, please to look, I have to separate from the unclean path that you're walking in and from some of those ways that you're you're engaged in which are not according to this book. I'm not judging your state of soul. I'm not judging whether you're saved or not. Put it that way. You do judge the state of soul of the individual, but you you don't judge. It's not our prerogative to judge what I want to say or not. Saving them, we don't know.
We're not come upon to make that judgment we're called upon to.
In part from iniquity.
Notice it says in the middle of verse 19, the Lord knows them that are His. No, we don't. We simply don't.
Everyone in this room that professes to be a Christian.
Because everyone in this room is everyone absolutely sure that each one who makes that profession is true and real.
You know the if you'd ask the 11.
They wouldn't have singled out Judas.
They wouldn't have known he was sweet and fostered.
Even when the Lord gave you the tongue, and he told them he it is to whom I should give the sound after I have sucked saying he is, and they still didn't know it. John 13 You can read it yourself, but it still didn't gasp, he says to Judas. What I'll do is do victory.
He knows when Lord knows them that it is. And there's so much that's going on in the Christian world today that is contrary to God. And yet we wouldn't want to say because someones engaged in some of those things or someone has fallen into some awful evil.
That they're just because of that their beliefs are not going to be in heaven. That's not for us to judge. But what it is for us to judge is to not walk in a path. Whether one says he's a Christian or not, that is not according to this word.
That's the important issue. And so we are to purge ourselves. Verse 21 But man, therefore purge himself from these He should be a vessel of the honor, sanctify the meat for the masters used and prepared unto every good work. And that's the more directors please also use the lusts plea youthful lust, those lusts of ambition, of pride, arrogancy, conceit.
Self assuredness, all these things that kind of characterize youth when they.
They've learned a little bit, and they're not dry behind the ears, yet they think they know it. All these are youthful lusts as well as the youthful lusts of the body, which we know.
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Want to know what that means?
Well, he says Please, just as Paul says elsewhere, flee fornication. There were times of sins without stand against. We are just free. Get out, get out from under the temptation.
Well, follow. I was talking to a man. I was talking to a brother who had left the Lord's table.
And I said to you, what do you have? Where are you?
Could left the place when the Lord said his name and.
He's talking about following the path, the path which the vultures I have not seen the lions Welsh have not tried Nick that path. Job 28, I said that's the path of faith. He said we ought to be able to trace that path in Scripture. And I said to him, yeah, I'm sure it's traced in second syndicate. He worked for the last days. The apostle Paul kind of looked at me, startled, traced and seconded. I said, yes, it's right here.
In verse 22, three also youthful lusts but follow. Here's the back follow righteousness.
Faith, love, peace with them that come on the Lord out of the pure heart, I said. Would you please tell me who the them is in your case?
Who are you following with in this path? Well, of course he was all alone. He was outside and I was trying to press upon his conscience that he was not in that path. If he was in a path of individuality when we when we leave the collective path where we're walking with our brethren and just said, I'm going to go it alone, I can't get along with my brethren and I'm going to just stay home and go to work, That's exactly what Satan wants you to do. We want you to miss the meetings. We want you not to be there. He wants you to avoid your collective responsibility. But he hasn't given us that option.
He says in Second Timothy a word for the last days follow. Righteousness, doing the right thing. Faith. Trusting God for your past, love.
Don't let, Don't let the.
Evil that's come in, the coldness that's come in, the love of many waxing cold. Don't let that cause you to cease to love and then peace the end of yourself of this with them that call the Lord out of a pure heart that's not an individual attack. Collective, that's a collective path. That's the path for faith. It has to be collected because the truth that were you upheld in these days is there is one body and one body is composed of members one another. So that if one member suffer, all the members suffer with it, if another member be glorified, all the members rejoice with it. We're members one of another, we're members of that one body. So if we're going to give expression to that practically it has to be with them.
With others, fellow members of that one body and calling the Lord out of their pure heart. Verse 20, just I just have to go quickly now because the time has slipped through. Our fingers were foolish and unlearning questions are void. So there are things that the man of God is to avoid knowing that they do. Gender strikes. Chapter 3, verse five, having a form of godliness. He's describing the last days. He says in the last days.
Tell us time should come. In verse five he describes these men having a form of godliness but denying the power they're out from such turn away. There are those that the man of God in these last days love does not mean you throw your arms around everything and everyone and you embrace all kinds of evil that's there. But there are those we are to turn away from, those that are that have the support of godliness but deny the power thereof from such turn away, just as he says in the verse 21 of chapter 2.
If a man hurts himself from these, there are those we are to separate from in order to be a vessel to honor. And so there are those we are to turn away from and before.
Lift up the hands and hang down. Strengthen the people knees. Make strength paths for your feet less that which is lame you turned out of the way. You'll better grab your feel.
Don't give up, continue thou, Continue thou the things which thou hast learned, and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou learned them, and that from a child, Alice doing the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
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Chapter 4.
The first one I charge the therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead. It is appearing in his Kingdom. I hear you've got a whole bunch of directors preach the word.
The instant in season of a season, the urgent that means.
We true or convict of sin.
Rebuke.
Exhort encourage with all long-suffering and darkness, for the time will come. It has come. We're living in these days, when they will not endure some doctrine, but after their own lush, and they keep to themselves teachers having itchy ears. And they will, they should turn away their ears from the truth that shall be turned under fables.
Watch thou or be sober. Another directive in all things. Be sober. Don't be intoxicated by the things of this world. Don't be so occupied with the world's entertainment that it's it's it's glittering tinsel that it dangles before the eyes of youth.
As though there was something out there that's worth pursuing. It's not. The world has nothing that's worthwhile.
He really does.
Only things that really count, the things of the war, things of the law. Give yourself holy for these things also.
Watch down all things endure afflictions.
Their evils, and through the work of the evangelist, never cease getting the word out to the lost.
That's out of tracks. Speak a word to those that you meet with. Never cease an outreach. Christianity is is not an enclosure. It's not a Judaism. It's not a fold in an enclosure. It's it's an outreach. It's going out. It's aggressive. It's it takes the offense and reaches out to those who are lost.
I am now ready to be offered, he says.
Just make full proof of thy ministry. And then he says, I'm now ready to be offered the time of my departures at hand. I thought that ought to read The good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the next story that was laid up for me, the crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous church shall give me at that day and not to me only unto. All in all, sin of love is Ethereum. I'm sorry a little bit, but I think it's so important that.
That we we see.
Those wonderful directors that the apostle gave to this young man, Timothy, who made this to that committee, they need to be stirred up. We need to be encouraged to hold the password. All these truths that we've been looking at 224.
All that we never might forget of Christ is suffering for our sake to save our souls and make us need of always glory to partake, but keeping this in mind, press on glory.
224.
All that we have.
Water.
I have.
Lost the water, I said.
In that way we are so.